Iowa was NOT Named One of the Friendliest States in the U.S.

How can this be?!

When I moved from Michigan to Iowa almost five years ago, I immediately noticed how friendly and nice people were. I went into a local Walmart on my second day here and was shocked at how many people said, "hello!" and, "excuse me!" That's why I was confused when I read this survey this morning.

According to Big Seven Travel, Iowa is NOT one of the friendliest states in America. In fact, we didn't even make the top half of the list! Their rankings put Iowa alllll the way down at number 29. Number 28 was Michigan. There's no way that's right. I know we certainly have our fair share of rude people, but we also have the saying "Iowa nice!"

The weirdest part about our rank is that the article had nothing negative to say about us. It reads:

"Iowa is well known for being a generally friendly and kind state, with people regularly waving hello to strangers and saying hello on the street. Cashiers will greet you with a smile, roadside farmers will tell you all about their tasty crops and there’s a real sense of community."

If that's true, then HOW did we make the bottom half of the list? This is baffling.

The friendliest states in America according to this list are: